My Son, The Phantom
by Erika Daae
Summary: Because of an unlikely coincidence involving a fop, a graveyard, and a small orb,the Phantom is turned into a child and Christine and Raoul become his new parents. I suck at summaries. Please R and R! CE
1. Our Son?

I do not own the Phantom of the Opera...I would be very happy if I did, but I dont...and that makes me very sad...

My Son, The Phantom

_Chapter 1_

In a snowy cemetery in Paris, swords could be heard clanging against each other in a fierce battle of love. A young woman with curly brown hair was watching the two men fight. One was an aristocratic looking man, thin with shoulder length blond hair.

His opponent was a tall, thin, black haired man in all black, except for the white mask that covered half of his face. The blond man was knocked to the ground and while he was distracted with the task of getting up, the black haired man disappeared. "Raoul! Above you!" the woman shouted to the blond as the black haired man jumped down from a tombstone in the shape of an angel.

"She is mine! Give it up!" Raoul shouted to the masked man as he barely managed to block his sword from his chest. "Phantom! Please stop this!"she shouted to the black haired man known to her as Phantom. "Ha! If that is what you wish, my dear! Then I shall end this!" he yelled as he pulled a small black orb from the folds of his cape.

"After all...I doubt you could marry a child!" he laughed as he threw the ball at Raoul. Raoul, seeing the ball coming at him, kicked it a moment before it would've hit him. The orb flew back towards the cloaked phantom and hit him in the shoulder. The ball exploded into a cloud of light blue smoke, enveloping the astonished man, leaving Raoul and Christine to look on in shock.

When the smoke cleared...where the Phantom once stood, now layed a small child with black hair, the same clothes (much smaller), and the same white mask that covered half his face. Christine slowly walked towards the unconscious child that layed on the snowy cemetery ground. "Ph-Phantom?" she asked, her voice quivering. "Christine! Stay away from it! It could be a trap!" Raoul shouted to the woman, only to have his cries ignored.

"Raoul...," she called back to her companion, "Hes a child...we cant leave him here..." "Yes we can! Don't you remember? He's kidnapped you and he's tried to seduce you! We can't bring him with!" the viscount shouted to her, while she picked up the young Phantom. "No we can't. He's a child, Raoul! I know what he's done...but I can't leave him here to die. He's coming with."she finalized, giving Raoul her strictest look while holding her Angel of Music. "...fine. Let's go, its cold."he knew that he couldn't refuse her, so he didn't even bother trying.

Christine and Raoul entered her dressing room, expecting no one. So they were surprised to find the blonde ballet girl Meg and her mother, Madame Giry there. "Hello you two. What have you there?" the strict ballet instructor asked eyeing the bundle wrapped in Christines cloak. "Madame Giry! Could you help us? Something terrible has happened!" Christine exclaimed as she ran to her bed to unwrap the bundle holding the young Phantom of the Opera.

"Good God!" Madame Giry shouted as she stared at the boy on the bed who didn't appear to be more than 7 or 8, maybe even 6. "I-Is that...?" she stuttered out. "Is that a child, Christine?" Meg asked her friend. "Yes, but he wasn't a child before...Meg, Madame Giry...this is the Phantom of the Opera." Christine whispered to her friends, fearing that the walls were listening to them.

"What happened to him?" Madame Giry managed to ask through her shock. "Well, Raoul was fighting him in the cemetery, I asked Phantom to stop the fight, then he threw something at Raoul, who kicked it back, it hit him, burst into light blue smoke...and then he was a child." Christine explained. "Ah, a new invention...he was going to turn Raoul into a child so that you wouldnt be able to love him as a husband..only as a son or little brother..."Madame Giry theorized.

"So...What do we do about him? We can't just through him out into the street!" Christine exclaimed as she picked up the child and held him close to her chest, clutching to him like a lifeline.

"I think it would be best if you cared for him Christine. Hes never felt a mother's love...I think that it would be good for him."Giry gently stroked the boy's hair while she spoke...as if lost in thought.

"...Yes. I would be more than happy to. We would be more than happy to, right Raoul?" "hmph." "RAOUL!!" "uh...I mean, of course we'd be more than happy to." Raoul answered through gritted teeth. "But Madame Giry?" Christine asked quietly. "Yes?" she stared at her "adopted daughter". "What is his name?" she stared puzzledly at the ballet instructor, still clutching the boy. "Oh, that's right. I never told you. The Phantom's name is Erik, he has no surname.

"Erik...I like it. Erik the little Angel of Music..."Christine murmered to herself, gently stroking his hair. His eyes began to furrow and he started to wake up.

Blue eyes, like the hottest fire, fluttered slowly open and stared at the faces above him, first in a daze then noticing that he knew no one there. He began to panic, trying to push away from Christines grasp. "Who are you? Where am I? Let me go! Don't hurt me, please! Please...don't hurt...me!" Erik screamed out in his panic, beginning to cry at his fear that the people in the room would try to kill him because of his face.

"Shhh...Calm down,Erik. Shhh...calm down, baby...please...relax...we aren't going to hurt you..." Christine whispered to the frantic child gently, causing him to relax and slump in her arms. "I am Christine. These are Raoul, Meg, and Madame Giry...you are at the Opera Populaire..."she spoke slowly and gently to the frightened boy. "Were going to take care of you...don't worry...I am your new mother and Raoul is your new father." she told the small Erik, while holding him cradle style in her arms. "Have you seen my face? I don't think you'd be my mama and my papa if you saw it..." he whimpered, tears welling up in his fire blue eyes.

"We have seen your face and we will still be your mama and your papa. So calm down and go back to sleep little Erik..."she whispered to Erik, his eyes growing heavy and his head nodding while he resisted the temptation of slumber.

"Goodnight, Erik. Sweet dreams. Your new mama and papa are here watching you..." she spoke sweetly to him and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight..Mama and papa...I love you..." he whispered to them as his eyes closed and the music of the night began.

Well? My first Phantom fic so please be kind!! Review and the next chapter will come a lot sooner!! Thank you for reading.

A/N : I know that people say his eyes are gold or yellow, but in the movie they're blue and I like the blue ones better, but if too many people have a problem..then Ill change it. Please review!! Make Erik and me happy!


	2. Monster?

Ok, Chapter 2 of My Son, The Phantom. Yay! I'm sooo happy people like it! Please keep reading. I'll update when I get at least 2 reviews for this chapter so please R+R!!! My expectations are so low, aren't they: D

A/N: Sorry for any spaces, missing quotations, etc., etc. My computer's just retarded that way.

Disclaimer: I Don't own the Phantom of the Opera, if I did, Raoul and Carlotta would be dead, but they aren't, too bad...

_Chapter 2 _

Chistine watched with a small smile as Erik's eyes shut and his breathing became slow and steady. "You want me to be his father, Christine? Are you forgetting that he's my rival and that he hates me?" Raoul asked the brunette while she laid the boy down on her bed and tucked him in like she was his actual mother and he was just a normal boy. "Yes. Maybe you can learn to like him. Maybe you two can be friends when he goes back to normal. And besides, didn't you hear him? In his mind he _just met you_ and he's already _said that he loves you_...and he's so...so...sensitive as a child." she answered. "Maybe, but I doubt it. And how _are_ we supposed to get him back to normal?" Raoul answered with a sigh. There was a long pause, then Madame Giry spoke up. "We can check his lair. See if there's any cure there." Everyone agreed to it and Raoul and Meg stayed with Erik, while Christine and Madame Giry left for his lair to look around and maybe get some of his things for him.

_In the Lair_

The darkness was only broken by the light from the oil lamp that Madame Giry brought with them. Papers laid on the organ in one messy pile, the candles weren't lit at the moment, and the small miniature of the opera's stage was set on a scene from the opera Il Muto, which was set to play in a week's time. Madame Giry headed for the back of the lair, so Christine wandered towards the bedroom with the beautiful, golden, swan bed. The small dresser drawer was open and there was the edge of a piece of paper sticking out. Curious to see what it was, she walked over and pulled out the drawer. It was a drawing of a beautiful young woman with blond hair and the brightest green eyes...but a look of fear on her face. She was holding out a small white mask. '...This must be his real mother...the one that feared him...the one that abandoned him and let him be taken to be sold off to a freak show and labeled as the Devil's Child...' she thought to herself, small tears bubbling up in her eyes. 'To be deformed...when your mother is so beautiful...'

_With Erik_

Raoul was staring at Erik in sleep while Meg was cleaning up the room. Erik moved a little under the incriminating gaze burning into his skull, threatening to wake up, but Raoul just continued to stare...and stare...and stare. "Raoul, what are you doing?" Meg finally asked watching the viscount continued staring at his little victim, who kept moving, like he could sense the stare in his sleep. There was silence for a few minutes as he continued to stare. "...How could such a sensitive, scared, innocent child be the murderous, insane, monstrous, demon whose cause us so much pain and suffering?" he answered at last. "I don't know. I guess the years of being unloved, mocked, and _stared at_," she emphasized a little on the word stare to give him a hint to stop...with no luck, "drove him to insanity." Meg concluded. He finally removed his gaze from the child, but only because he woke up. Little Erik sat up in bed and rubbed at his sleepy eyes.

"Hi Papa, hello Mademoiselle Meg. Where are Mama and Madame Giry?" he answered with a slight yawn, his hair messy and his mask slightly askew.

"They went to go check on something. They'll be back soon." he answered with an annoyed tone. "Are you mad at me, papa?" Erik whimpered, big blue eyes quickly filling with tears. "...No...Papa's not mad, Erik..." he sighed as he went over to pick up Erik and put him on his lap. "I'm not mad...but it's just that you remind me of...someone else...who I wasn't very fond of...but you're not him, okay, little Erik?" he smiled down at the little boy on his lap, and took off his mask. Little Erik screamed and hid the deformed side of his face with his hands. "Erik, it's okay. I won't scream, I won't call you a monster, I won't abandon you just because of your face...so put your hands down, okay?" Raoul encouraged him just enough for him to take his hands of his face, revealing the jagged skull and red, deformed skin, his eyes filled with fear and anticipation to his "papa's" reaction to it. Raoul gently brushed his hand against the red skin, causing the boy to jump slightly. "See? It's fine. Don't worry, me, Christine, Meg, and Madame Giry are fine with your face. You don't have to worry about it with us." Raoul ruffled his hair a bit, just as a father would do to his son. Erik smiled, looking like a shining angel despite the deformity, and hugged Raoul's neck. Raoul was taken aback by the hug from what used to be his enemy, but hesitantly hugged him back anyway. Meg just looked on the whole scene smiling while writing something down on a few sheets of paper on her lap.

_Back in the Lair_

"Have you found anything yet Madame Giry?" Christine called out to the older woman. "No...I'm afraid not...did you find anything to bring back to him?" she called back from the darkness. "Not much, I'm afraid. Only some of his other masks, painting things, and I found some clothes that might fit him...though why did he have these here?" Christine asked as she showed Madame Giry some small black and red outfits. "Old ones from when he was young? He bought them because he was hoping to have a son with you? Conveniently placed? I don't know, we'll ask him when we get him back to normal." she replied like finding strange things involving the Phantom was nothing new to her...which it was probably wasn't. "We've been down here almost an hour, I think we'd better get back before Erik wakes up...or before Raoul strangles him in his sleep." Christine laughed out half jokingly, half seriously. "Agreed."

_In Christine's dressing room_

"...Well, I wasn't expecting this..." Christine and Madame Giry were staring at the scene on the bed before them. Raoul had fallen asleep sprawled out on the bed (snoring slightly) with one arm draped around Erik, who was curled up into a half ball without his mask on, cuddling into Raoul's chest, with his arms clinging around the older man's neck. Meg was just sitting there smiling. "Want to see what they were talking about before they fell asleep?" she giggled, holding out a few sheets of paper with every word they said written down. "...At least they didn't strangle each other." Christine whispered to the two women, who nodded in agreement. "We still need to get Erik some more clothes. We found some in his size, but it's only two or three." Christine said holding out the outfits she had found in Erik's cellar home. "So we'll have to take him shopping later? How are we gonna do that, I mean...with the mask and all?" Meg asked. "Don't worry about it. It won't be that big of an issue as long as no one touches the mask." Madame Giry answered as the boys on the bed stirred, Raoul waking up first and sitting up holding the boy cradle style. "Wha-? Christine, Madame Giry. When did you get back?" he mumbled sleepily. "Just now. We'll have to take Erik shopping for clothes today or tomorrow." Christine said, answering the half asleep man. "Oh, okay...Christine?" "Yes?" "Well...think we could take Erik to the Opera on Saturday?" he asked shyly looking down on the sleeping mini Phantom. "Sure, I don't see why not. I think it's a good idea, he loves music." she smiled at the idea, she wasn't performing in this play so they could all sit together like a family, and she liked that thought a lot.

"So we'll have to get him an outfit for that too. Something fancy...but not to fancy." then little Erik still in Raoul's arms woke up just as Madame Giry finished her sentence.

"Hello Madame Giry. Hi Mama." he yawned, reaching up to straighten his mask, but not finding it there. He began to panic and start to search frantically for it with one hand covering his face. "Erik, relax. Remember what I said? You don't have to hid your face from us." Raoul reminded the frantic Phantom. Erik turned to look at Raoul, then at the three women and, with a few encouraging nods and smiles, removed his hand and stared down at his feet hanging over the bed. Christine walked over and gently took his small chin in her hand to make him look her in the face. "See? I'm not running away. I'm not afraid of your face." she chided calmly. She handed him one of the outfits she had found in the Phantom's lair, a small, plain, white shirt and simple black pants. "Come on, Erik, honey. Get dressed so we can go out and get you a couple more outfits...and something to wear when we go the Opera on Saturday." she said as she smiled down at the boy while he took off his shirt, getting stuck at the top. "Hehehe. Need some help there?" Christine laughed playfully as she pulled it over his head. On his sides there were scars, some small and hardly noticeable, others long and slightly green, possibly from infection. Erik didn't fail to catch her staring at them and sighed exhaustedly. "They're from when I was living with mama. Whenever I tried to kiss her, hug her, or even come near her...she'd beat me with whatever she could find...sticks, ropes...occasionally knives..." he whispered as he fingered his biggest wound, going from the middle of his back to the middle of his stomach. "Poor Erik...you're only a child and you've experienced so much cruelty from the world..." Christine sobbed as tears began to flow from her eyes. Erik put his arms around her neck and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Shh...it's okay Mama...I'm fine, now...I have you and Papa with me...I know you won't hurt me...I know you won't fear this Angel in Hell..." he whispered into her ear...just loud enough for everyone to hear. _The Angel in Hell_. 'Could it be possible that he remembers...? No...he doesn't...did he refer to himself as that even when he was young? Will he remember any of this when he goes back to his normal self..?' Madame Giry mused to herself while the touching moment ended and Erik finished dressing. "Madame Giry? Meg? Are you two going to come with us?" Christine asked the two women, snapping Giry out of her thoughts. "Yes, let's go."

_At the Marketplace_

People were flowing through the streets with their packages, not paying attention when a small carriage drove in and three women, a man, and a strange masked child stepped out into the hectic crowd. Erik clung tightly onto Christine's skirts, as though fearing that everyone in the market would become a mob, claim him the devil's child, and try to kill him on the spot. He had to be urged a little to move by Raoul, and when he finally did the carriage was completely out of sight. They stopped at the first place they could find that sold clothes, fearing that Erik would freeze again. "Hello, monsieur and mademoiselles! What may I help you with?" an overly peppy seamstress with dirty blond curls shouted to them as she approached them, abandoning a small pile of shirts she had been straightening in the back. "Yes, we have to find a few outfits for our son...and something formal for an opera." Christine spoke back with a small smile as she gestured to Erik, who, again grew rooted to the spot with wide eyes. "Heehaw. It's okay, little boy. I don't bite." she giggled holding out her hand to him. Erik looked up at Christine with a "please don't make me do this" look plastered on the the visible side of his face. She gently pushed him forward and told him to take the "nice lady's" hand, which he did stiffly and she led him to the back to be measured with the rest following behind to make sure the mask wasn't removed and that Erik would be okay. The measurements were taken and the woman led them to look at some things that would fit him, jackets, shirts, pants, and such.

Then the question came up when Raoul and Erik were looking elsewhere and Christine was talking to the saleswoman alone. "Excuse me, but...why is your son wearing a mask? And everything he's chosen has been black or red...hardly any white..."she mumbled off. Christine sighed deeply, knowing that she would've heard that question at one point or another. "Well...he's not...like other people..." she began nervously. "He's not even really our child...his mother feared him because of his difference...and we came to adopt him as our own...only yesterday, actually...but no matter how you may be tempted...Never Remove the Mask. That's the worst thing you could ever do...watching his reaction if you scream at his face...that's enough to break even the darkest angel's heart..." "Ah..I understand...I was going to take it off too...thank you for the warning then, I guess..."she mumbled to Erik's adopted mother. The sound of a young boy's scream then reached their ears, followed by a woman's high-pitched screech and a man's shouts of "Get away from him!" Christine immediately ran out towards the street, where all the commotion was heard with the sales lady at her heels. Erik was lying in the middle of the street, hands covering the right side of his face. A tall red-haired woman stood near him, a hand over her mouth, his mask in her hand, and fear in her eyes. "Erik!" Christine shouted as she ran towards her "son", her Angel of Music, who laid crying in the road. He took off towards her and threw his arms around her once he reached her, causing the clothes store woman to stare in shock and fear at his now uncovered face. "The Devil's Child…." she whispered. Erik's pupils shrank till they were mere pinpricks in his blue eyes, which were slowly turning to green.

"What…did you…just call me…?" Erik spit out through gritted teeth. "You…you were the "Devil's Child" in the gypsies' freak show! I remember going there with my parents. So, you really are a freak? Not just some make up covered actor? You really are the son of a devil!" she laughed at him, whatever was left of the pupils in his eyes disappeared, replaced by pure rage and blood lust. He started towards her, growling like a rapid dog. "Erik! Stop, now!" Christine cried out. Her cries went unheard. He continued towards her, hands twitching to get around the ignorant woman's neck. "Erik! Please, stop!!!" she continued to cry out to the boy, still unheard. Everyone who was previously running around, doing whatever they had to do, stopped to watch the scene. Raoul was desperately trying to retrieve Erik's mask from the annoying woman who removed it and caused all the trouble in the first place. Erik began picking up speed until he ran straight towards the woman, jumping onto her with his small hands wrapping around her neck. "Erik! Killing someone won't keep people from calling you a monster! This is just enhancing their beliefs! Do not act like what they think you are, act like what you are!" Christine desperately shrieked to the enraged child. He stopped. He started crying, eyes going back to being the big green ones with a tendency to turn blue. He stared down into the frightened woman's eyes and immediately let go of her neck, letting the color return to her face which was quickly turning a light shade of blue.

He jumped off of her and quickly ran back to Christine, his mother, his savior. He threw his arms around her thin waist and crying into her skirts. She skillfully scooped him into her arms, squeezing the life from him with her hug while he sobbed uncontrollably into her shoulder. "There, there, Erik….there, there…it'll be okay…Mama won't let them get you…." she broke into tears and felt her knees grow weak and give out. "Christine! Erik! Are you two okay?" Raoul called out as he made his way over to them with Erik's white half-mask in hand. "What?! Are you two both insane?" a random man yelled from the crowd which had gathered during the scene. "That monster tried to kill that woman!" another woman shouted. "He's mad!" "He's a demon!" "He's a murderous freak!" The shouts came, none of them in Erik's support. Most of them wanted to kill the child. "He's not mad, he's not a demon, and he is not a murderous freak!" Christine shouted to the revolting crowd. "He's a child! He's scared! He's afraid of people! So what if he's different? That woman over there provoked him, he's not normally like that…and look!" she shouted emotionally to them, holding up one of Erik's hands with got cut during his frenzy, "He's bleeding! His blood's red. It's not black, or green or whatever you say it is. He's a small human boy and he's crying and scared!" she continued her rant towards the spectators who gathered around the frenzied woman, the hysteric boy, and the man who was trying to comfort them both. "Christine, let's go…we can ask Madame Giry to get his clothes later." Raoul whispered as she lightly shook her shoulder. She nodded and that was all it took for them to get off the ground, locate and grab Meg and Madame Giry from a nearby store, head back to the carriage and drive off as quickly as the horses would allow.

_Christine's Dressing Room_

Erik hadn't stopped crying and Madame Giry had sent Meg to go back and get the clothes. Christine, try as she might, couldn't get him to stop and wore herself out trying. Now Madame Giry stepped up to the challenge of calming the petrified miniature Phantom, but had to be lectured by Christine not to use violence, threats, random ivory cane attacks, etc., etc. So Giry picked up the small child gently, cradled him in her arms, and rocked him back and forth while singing. "No one would listen…No one but her," Erik stopped crying, except for the small sniff here and there, "Heard as the outcast hears…."Christine looked up from were she laid on the bed. "Shamed into sol-itude, Shunned by the mul-titude…." Madame Giry continued singing softly to the sniffling boy. "I learned to listen…In my dark, my heart heard music." "I longed to…teach the world…rise up and….reach the world….No one would listen…I alone could hear the music…Then at last…A voice in the gloom, seemed to cry 'I hear you! I hear your fears; your torment and your tears!'" Erik sang with Madame Giry, but as she stopped singing, he continued. "She saw my lone-liness, Shared in my emp-tiness. No one would listen, No one but her…heard as the outcast hears……..No one would listen. No one but her…heard as the outcast…hears…" he sang beautifully, almost like the Angel of Music both Giry and Christine knew…although a bit higher-pitched.

Raoul and Christine applauded and, once she set him down onto the bed, Madame Giry began clapping too. "That was wonderful Erik! And so…touching." Christine commented as she wiped away the small tears that had formed from the wonderfully sad song. "Bravo, Erik!" Raoul cheered with a large smile. Madame Giry simply grinned and clapped. He gave his first true smile with them, actually showing his small pearl-white teeth. Both Christine and Erik yawned and Christine spread out and the bed and Erik crawled up onto the bed and curled up next to her. Then Raoul stepped out of his shoes and jumped into the bed to lay so that Erik was between him and Christine. "Goodnight, you three…" Madame Giry whispered as she blew out the lights. Erik opens his eyes and watched Raoul cover them with the blanket. "Goodnight Mama. Goodnight Papa thank you both for saving me today…You don't think I'm a monster, do you Mama?" he whispered. "No, of course you're not a monster, Erik." Christine whispered back, reaching over to take off his mask and placing it on the nightstand. "Now go to sleep Erik. It's been a long day…" 'And it'll be longer on Saturday….'

_Oooooooooo_

I know….that chapter was pretty boring….if you have any ideas for the next chapter, please send them! I need help with this story….I'll update after two reviews, but more would be appreciated. : )


	3. Inside My Mind

Hehe...sorry I haven't updated this story in...over a year...oops. I made a few versions of chapter three, but I didn't like them, then school, and computers breaking down on me...But now, summer is here and I am a much better writer (or at least, I like to think so.). So, hopefully I will be able to make up for it. Anyways, without further ado...Chapter 3!!

Chapter 3

Erik's eyes slowly fluttered open as the small rays of light escaped the barrier of the thick curtains. Green lined with gold on the edges and blue by the pupil today. He yawned widely and stretched, cat-like, before slowly rolling out of bed, landing on the oak floor with a small "thump".

"Ouch..." he mumbled, rubbing the shoulder that had been hurt on impact as he stood. He glanced over to the bed to see his Mama, Christine, laying on her side, looking very angelic. All-the-while holding a pillow over his Papa, Raoul's, face. Apparently, she didn't like his snoring...

Little Erik giggled slightly at the amusing scene, then headed over to the drawer where he knew his clothing was kept. As he pulled out a clean shirt, a piece of paper fell out of the dresser.

Being as most children are, he was curious, so he picked the note off the floor and began to read the contents of the letter, noticing the script as his Papa's.

His eyes widened slightly and his hand shook. He dropped the letter and, quickly, but quietly, ran out of the room, small tears welling up in his eyes.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, Christine began to rouse, her hand finally moving from the pillow that had been muffling Raoul's unbelievably loud snoring. Rolling over, she glanced around the room to notice a few odd things.

One. Erik wasn't there.

Two. A drawer was wide open, and one of his shirts had been thrown carelessly onto the floor.

Three. The door leading from the dressing room/bedroom was open slightly.

Prying herself from her pillows, she rolled off of the bed as Erik had done previously, and hurting her shoulder just as the chibi-phantom had.

"Ouch." she murmered as she went over to examine the drawer. On the ground was a note, slightly crumbled. She picked it up and read its contents, and as she did, her hands began to tremble, not in sadness as Erik's had, but in anger and worry.

"Raoul de Changy! Get your _ass_ up this instant!"

...

"What is this?!" a very angry Christine shouted at the dazed blond man staring at her with a confused look. "What is what?"

"This!" She shoved the letter in his hands and he quickly scanned it.

'Uh oh.' he thought, suddenly wide awake.

The letter?

_Dear Phillipe,_

_Do you remember Christine Daae? The young girl whose scarf I once saved from the sea? I have found her once again, and it appears that this time I must save more than a scarf. Christine works as a ballet dancer and a soprano here, but it appears that she has fallen in love with a horrible monster! His deformed face is covered by a mask and he stalks the halls here at the Opera Populaire. He is known as the Phantom of the Opera, apparently. He is no true Phantom, he is merely a deformed monster who was rejected by hell. He uses his voice to hypnotize Christine, but I promise I will save her! I am going to kill a Phantom!_

"Raoul..." Christine growled angrily at the now terrified Vicomte. She could be incredibly frightening given the right provocation, and this hit the mark just right.

"Now, Christine...I wrote this a long time ago, back when he was an adult! I just never sent it..." Raoul tried to plead his case, though his plea wasn't exactly having the desired effect...

"So you shoved it in his clothing drawer?! You are a _complete _fool! He read that and now he's run off somewhere! How do you plan on finding him?!"

"I don--"

Christine grabbed the Vicomte's shirt collar roughly.

"You had better find him quickly de Changy, or else_ I _will personally make sure that _you_ will be an_ actual _phantom!"

she let go of his collar, running off to find Madame Giry and Meg.

Raoul ran his hand through his hair. "Now if I was a child, where would I go...?"

With that thought, he headed off to search for Erik.

...

Meanwhile, Erik was stalking the halls, hiding whenever someone came past. The halls...somehow they seemed familiar to him...

_Of course they're familiar...you've lived here for many years!_

Erik stopped upon hearing the voice inside his head. Normally, it would be a cause for concern, but...it had the same enchanting alure of Erik's own voice...

_I am you. This is your voice. Now, turn down the hall to your left and go to the staircase by the statue..._

Having no choice but to listen to the voice in his head, since he did not know the layout of the vast opera, he decided to listen and see where it would lead him.

...

Raoul had searched every place he thought a child might go. He had checked the prop and costume rooms, the kitchen, the stage, the stairs, the orcheastra pit, and every inch of the opera from the roof to the second cellar with no luck.

To the second cellar...maybe...?

He turned down the long hall to his left, heading towards the staircase that would lead him to the cellars.

One...no...two...no...three...no...four...no...five...

The fifth cellar. The large underground lake Christine had described seemed to glisten in a non-existent light. Raoul sighed as he removed his coat and shirt and plunged into the dark waters of the lake.

...

Erik silently rowed the gondola across the surface of the glassy lake. Soon, he spotted the thousands of candles that the voice had told him to search for. From the other side of the lake, he heard a splash, but the voice told him that it was probably the fish that resided in the lake's depths.

He unsteadily lept from the boat, landing on the soft sand of the shore. The walls and a few pieces of furniture were littered with drawings and compositions, There were, of course, the thousands of candles on their candlebras, and replicas, masks, and other such things littered the floor.

Splash!

He swiftly turned to see a drenched Raoul dragging himself from the water, exhausted from the long swim across the lake. Erik's eyes widened in panic and hurt. 'Papa said he would kill me to save Mama...now he's come...'

_You know what to do..._

**I can't...**

_She'll be only yours!_

**No she won't! Killing him would only make Mama hate and fear me!**

_No she won't! You'll just be helping her to make a choice!_

**I won't!**

_Yes, you will!_

**No!**

_DO IT, DAMMIT!! KILL HIM!_

"NO!" Erik shouted, clutching his head as he fell to his knees before curling into a ball on the floor, the pressure from the harsh, commanding voice attempting to make him kill...

Raoul, believing Erik feared him, slowly made his way towards the child, who was still screaming, all while trying to sooth him with comforting words. "Hush Erik...its fine...I didn't mean to write that letter, nor for you to see it...I'm your Papa now, _I promise I will never hurt you_..."

Suddenly, the screaming stopped. Erik, his back to the Vicomte, slowly rose to his feet, teetering slightly, as though he would fall over.

"Erik!" Raoul rushed to the boy's side before he fell, kneeling down and gently hugging the boy's shoulders, although mildly awkwardly.

"Papa...I love you Papa..." Erik's small, angelic voice echoed in the silence. He laughed lightly, "I love you Papa..."

Suddenly, he spun around and hooked a lasso, the famous Punjab Lasso, around Raoul's neck. His firey blue eyes were tinted red and burning with insanity, a wild smile plastered on his face. When he spoke again, his voice sounded like the child's had been melted together with another, all too familiar one...that of the Phantom.

He laughed, sounding and looking all the part of a madman.

"What's the matter _Papa_?" he spat out. "Do you not love your new_ son _anymore?" He laughed again as he tightened the noose around the blond's neck.

"Heh, Vicomte...did you think I would surrender that easily? No...Christine is _mine_." Raoul reached around the rope and the possessed child's short arms to grab his neck. Erik's grip loosened it's deadly hold on the rope as Raoul's grip on the boy's neck tightened.

Suddenly, the gentle voice of the child returned, and wide, scared eyes stared back into Raoul's. "Papa...you're...hurting me...I thought you_ promised _that you would never hurt me..." tears began to overflow, silently running along the boy's visible cheek, and dripping out through the bottom of the white mask.

"Papa...I thought..." the double-voice returned, laughing insanely. "_Papa! Papa!_ I thought you _promised_ you'd never hurt me! You're going to _kill _me, Papa!" he laughed again.

Raoul's mind was a war at the moment. Kill him and be done with it, but also kill the child-Erik that may actually have a chance? Or let him live and live in fear of this every second of the day...?

But before the desicion could be made, Christine and Madame Giry, rowing a small boat, Christine, not even waiting for the boat to compeltely reach shore, leaped from the boat, hitting the sand and rushing up to where they two were caught in their war.

"Christine..." Erik's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he slumped forward, Raoul releasing his grip and Christine catching him. She began to cry as she cuddled his unconcious form into her chest while Madame Giry released the Ounjab from its deadly hold.

Erik's eyes fluttered open, revealing green rimmed with gold. "Mama...? Papa...?" his sweet innocent voice, even when whispered, sounded like a miracle. Until...

The eyes turned into the burning blue again, the merged voice appearing once more. "Bonjour, my Angel. And Madame Giry...before you ask, since I know you shall...I'm not ready to tell you where I hid the cure. I'm simply enjoying myself far too much. Wouldn't you say so,_ Papa_?" he snickered. "And besides...now that I'm your son...you won't be able to bring yourself to kill me, while I can kill you at anytime...Goodbye for now." he chuckled as he issued his warning and his goodbye, before blue eyes rolled, yet again, into the back of the boy's head before returning to green.

Erik's eyes began to water. He had been able to see everything, hear everything, and feel everything...yet he had also been unable to stop it.

As Raoul scooted next to him and began to rub Erik's neck gently where a bruise from the adult's hand was forming on the boy's neck, Erik could easily see the bruises and burns the rope had left behind on his Papa's neck, causing him to begin crying from the damage he had inflicted.

"Papa! I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..."

Christine reached to move a bit of stray jetblack hair from the boy's face, and he flinched.

"Don't worry, Erik. I won't hurt you. It's not your fault..."

_Yes, it is...I'm still here, little one. And eventually...your hand will kill him._

"Mama, Papa! He's still here...the Phantom of the Opera is inside my mind!"


	4. Plotting Minds

Okay, I am at wit's end. I have so many stories to update and revise...curse the plot bunnies and how they attack me! But I'm trying to do my best here, so please bare with me! Support is appreciated!

Thanks to all who reviewed, they truly help me to update quickly!

This chapter is more of a filler if anything...just to get the story rolling again. :3

Chapter 4

Christine held the sobbing Erik close to her chest, blinking back tears of her own.

_"__He's still here...the Phantom of the Opera is inside my mind!"_

His words still rang in her head, sending shivers crawling down her spine, as well as into her heart. She ran a comforting hand through his messy black locks as Raoul's oar helped to skim the gondola across the underground lake.

The blonde stared ahead as though looking forward, but Christine could see that they were glazed over, a sign of his mental struggle.

'It must be hard for him...' Christine sighed, staring down to watch the tears as they trailed down both sides of Erik's face. The beautiful angel...and the scarred demon...

'Just like how his mind is right now...the angel...our Erik...and the demon...' a small tear fell down her cheek to land on the top of Erik's head, who looked up to see where the foreign drop had fallen from.

Puffy green eyes stared back into Christine's chocolate orbs, tears still streaming down the flesh of his cheeks.

"Mama...are you and...Raoul...mad at me?" he asked innocently, wiping a tear from Christine's cheek.

"Why are you calling him Raoul instead of Papa, Erik? And of course we're not mad at you...it isn't your fault." she comforted the child.

_'It isn't your fault...it can't really be considered his either. It's the result of the cruelness of those who haven't suffered as he has...his original mother...the freakshow owners and customers...me and Raoul..._

_I wonder if our kindness now towards the young Erik will affect the older Erik at all?'_

"So...why aren't you calling Raoul "Papa", Erik?" she asked, the tears having slowed their flow, though not completely stopping their descent from the child's eyes yet.

He stared down towards the water, seeming as though trying to unravel the mysteries hidden within its dark depths.

"I thought...he wouldn't want to be my papa anymore...I thought he wouldn't want me around him anymore. I'm...dangerous to him now..." he sniffed slightly, fiddling with the bottom of his shirt, the tears now completely stopped.

"You are dangerous now." Raoul's voice called back, still quiet and thoughtful. Erik said nothing, but silently accepted his fate.

"But I'm still your Papa." the young Phantom looked up at this, wide eyes staring unbelievingly at the older man.

Raoul chuckled softly as he continued to row, seeing the other side only a minute or so away. "Just because I don't like y-the Phantom, doesn't mean I don't want you as my...my son..." he turned back and smiled slightly as the gondola pulled up to the dock.

_You'll kill him as soon as I'm done playing with his head. _

_**'**_**No I won't! See? Raoul's not bad...he's not even mad at me for what I did because of **_**you**_**!'**

_He's only being kind because he wants to earn your trust. Then he'll murder you and steal Christine!_

**'No, he won't! Mama, Papa, and me are going to live together peacefully! **_**Without**_** you trying to kill Papa constantly!'**

_He'll kill you...just you wait...meanwhile, I'll still mess with his mind. I've always loved to taunt my prey..._

**'You'll see. He'll be kind to me...you'll see.'**

As Raoul docked the boat and helped Christine and Erik to step out, his mental struggle continued.

_'When will I kill Erik? It'll be soon...before he kills me...'_


	5. From Different Perspectives

I'm so sorry! Meant to update sooner...curse babysitting! Evil little brats...won't let me near a computer...they obviously don't know what happens when a Fanfiction writer's muse is pent up for too long...and they really shouldn't. Scary thing, that is...very scary indeed. And I've decided that for this chapter...a little thought was needed...so, there's the thoughts. Mainly a filler...Now! Enough of my babbling! Onto the next chapter of_ My Son, The Phantom_!

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**Raoul's POV**

We've been caring for the Phantom for a week's time now...he's beginning to trust me more, but I still don't have the right opportunity that I've waited for.

"Papa! Look what me and Mama made!" the little runt shouts at me, face covered in flour, with a wide grin. Christine is standing behind him, holding out a plate of cookies. I smile, and take one, thanking them and telling them how wonderful they are.

Can this..._moronic_ child, really be the Phantom that I have grown accustomed to? The skilled fighter, the demon from hell, his piercing eyes blazing with the flames of hell and hate...and the idiotic boy...the demon child...who sings like an angel, even at such a young age, with a woman he hardly knows, and a man he didn't trust, only to call them mother and father within the first few _hours_ of meeting them?

As he enjoys his time, playing with Meg and helping Christine..._my_lovely Christine...I have been plotting his demise, eager to return his accursed soul back to the hell-fires from which it had taken flight.

I smile and laugh with him, pretending to enjoy his company as he tries to steal away my beloved with his childhood antics.

Occasionally, the beast will remove itself from the disguise of the sheep, only when Christine isn't around, and begin swearing or cursing me, or playing tricks of the mind, only to take refuge back into the child's form just as soon as Christine reenters the room.

As I stroll alone through the darkened Parisian streets, preparing myself for the demise of Satan, I can relax, and laugh at how wonderful my plan is, and how soon my precious Christine and I will be wed...once the pest is gone...

Soon enough..._soon enough..._

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**Erik's POV**

Me, papa, and mama are strolling through the cobble-stoned streets of the big city, Paris. It's so large! Large...and yet only a tiny fragment of the earth...

Will I be able to travel one day? With mama and papa? And...without..._you_.

_Ah...but I am you, foolish child. Must I continue to repeat the words which I have already spoken?_

No. I am not you.

_Yes, you are. Therefore...we share the same mind._

Therefore...you should shut up.

_Imprudent little...just for that, once we get back, your beloved "papa" is going to get another punishment session._

You would have done it anyways...

_So? What is the point which you are trying to make?_

Never mind...just silence yourself so I can focus...must I remind you how difficult it is to act normal when having a conversation with someone in your head?

_Fine. Just remember...I get my use of this body later._

I blocked him out, attempting to shut the voice up in a cage in the back of my mind. Speaking of cages...

"Come on in! See the spectacles that await within! Do you dare to see the freaks of nature that we have personally collected? Come on in and face the unknown..."

I flinched as we passed. A travelling freak show...

Mama noticed my discomfort, and we moved to a different section of Paris, heading to the other side of the river via the bridge with the beautiful statues decorating the pillars on the four corners.

I couldn't help but have noticed papa's calculating stare when we had passed the freak show tent.

I shook my head in an attempt to clear it of thoughts.

An unaccustomed silence reigned in the back of my mind...

I suppose he had noticed it as well...

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**Raoul's POV**

The cold winter night's wind whipped my hooded cloak around my form as I headed out into the darkness. A shabby, aged building caught my eye and, heading around to behind, I found what I had been searching for.

As I entered the underground hideout, I could not prevent myself from chuckling slightly from glee. Here, in this dingy, rundown old building was where I would be provided with the tool that shall be used to murder a ghost...a phantom...a demon...

_A child..._

I shook the annoying thought from my mind. He wasn't a child. He was a demon. I would be doing the world a favor by putting an end to his...not life..._existence._

"I take it you have my order?" the hood concealed my face from the rugged criminal of the secret underworld.

"Why, yes, sir..." he sneered, handing me a small vial with what appeared to be a liquid as its contents. "The most toxic thing known to man...Botulinum toxin. Just empty the contents into whoever you want gone's food or drink...it may take a few days, but hardly any doctors ever think of it, because of it's rarity."

I nodded my thanks and handed him a pouch with his pay inside.

I eyed the vial with malice.

Soon...the Phantom will be just that...a phantom.


End file.
